SPIKES TATTOOS
Lined with sex shops and takeaways, Broad Street’s the spot to fill your tum with a mixed doner or pick up some PVC pants to cover your badly-packed furry kebab.

It’s also home to Spikes Tattoos, where assistant Alex sports an incredible facial piece that he had etched in front of 40,000 people at a Malaysian celebration by boss Spike and fellow artist Freewind.

Ultra Vixen DarkFaery, joined by friends Noir, Pinky and Jesika Anarchy, is in Spikes to have various holes punctured in herself. She also seems rather keen to get her jugs out, and the piercing room ends up with more baps on display than the window of Greggs the Bakers. “I crave getting naked,” she purrs. “I recently got body painted by Wolvo artist Matt Lloyd, completely in the buff; he drew a waistcoat, pocket watch and tie directly onto my skin, and the cold brush felt inappropriately erotic on my nipples…”


DARKLENS PHOTOGRAPHY
If you want a family portrait with a touch of the Addams Family magic, check out the work of Wulfrunian photographer Darren Darklens. As well as snapping neighbourhood bands such as Metal Hammer’s ‘Demo of the Year’ winners Speed Theory, he regularly gets mud-stained, blood-soaked beauties to scale barbed-wire fences draped in pig organs as part of his ‘Diaries of the Dead’ book project.



DARK KITTEN SHOES and TOPS & TAILS FETISH WEAR
Dark Kitten manager Kerrie and Tops & Tails owner Sam are pretty darned close; Sam even made little waistcoats and dresses for Kerrie’s dogs so they could be pageboys and bridesmaids at her wedding. She usually stitches plus-size fetish wear, including a Brownie outfit for a transvestite, a maid’s dress with a 64” chest, and a 1950’s prison uniform complete with authentic hessian underwear.

THE GIFFARD ARMS
If anyone can teach us not to stumble in skyscrapers, it’s manager of Goth hot spot The Giffard Arms, Spikey. Proud owner of some custom House of Harlot heels which appear to have an Acme anvil as their base, he sawed the stiletto off another pair and replaced the front platform with a cloven Mr Tumnus-style heel.

Owners Tom and Wendy have worked hard to give the place a Gothic feel, adding coffin tables, a pulpit DJ booth and a ‘cursed’ chair, which according to various reports either makes the sitter fall fatally ill or pregnant.

There are Gothic belly dancing lessons on Mondays – we persuaded tutor The Pale Empress to teach us a few moves with members of her troupe, the Circle of Serpents.

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